The Detroit Red Wings landed their top two targets in college free agency Tuesday, and they’re going to join the team this season.

The Red Wings signed forwards Ryan Kuffner of Princeton and Taro Hirose of Michigan State to two-year entry-level contracts.

The pair of skilled wingers will be with the Red Wings for the remainder of the season and are expected to join the lineup in the next week to 10 days. The Canadian natives need to get their visas changed from academic to professional status. Kuffner is flying to Detroit Wednesday. Hirose will arrive Thursday.

“They were the top two free agent players we liked as a staff,” Jiri Fischer, the Red Wings’ director of player evaluation, said. “I don’t want to put who was No. 1 and who was No. 2 because they are different-type players. Ryan plays a little bit lower in the O-zone and Taro generally is the flank guy. (Hirose) would be more of a set-up guy, playmaker, whereas Ryan likes to be a little bit more of a shooter. They’re very complementary to each other.”

Kuffner (6-1, 195) is an Ottawa native who produced 22 goals and 22 assists in 31 games this season. In four years at Princeton, the left-shooting Kuffner has collected 75 goals and 152 points in 132 games.

“He’s got decent size, goes to the hard areas.” Red Wings assistant general manager Ryan Martin said. “I think he and his linemate, (Max) Veronneau (who signed with Ottawa Tuesday), were two of the best college hockey players in the country and really worked well together, so he can play a skilled game. He’s good at getting open away from the puck and can finish. He’s also got a pretty mature game without the puck. He’s a guy that’s responsible.”

Fischer said Kuffner would have been one of the top college free agents last year had he left Princeton early.

“He came into the season with big expectations of somebody that did extremely well a season ago,” Fischer said. “Now he was on the radar for all the teams to be the guy to shut down. I really liked the fact that he hasn’t done it just once, he’s done it back-to-back seasons, he’s produced.

“He is a very smart player playing in traffic. He’s got a quick release. He likes to play down low in the offensive zone. He can play quick, he can make fast decisions. We believe his game is going to translate to pro.”

Fischer lauded Kuffner’s hockey IQ.

“He is very smart,” Fischer said. “Out of all players I’ve met with last several years – free agents in Europe, college or overage juniors – he was the most self-aware of what he needed to work on as far as how to get better on the ice, what are his strengths, what are his weaknesses and also figuring out a plan and how to work on it. Going to Princeton, it’s one of the hardest schools to get in, academically, one of the hardest schools to graduate from.”

Hirose, 22, has spent the past three seasons at MSU, collecting 116 points (33 goals, 83 assists) in 106 games. This season, Hirose led the nation in points (50), points-per-game (1.47), assists (35), multi-point games (15) and three-point games (nine).

The 5-10, 160-pound Hirose, who is from Calgary, also was the Big Ten scoring champion, tallying 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists) in 24 conference games.

“He can really make quick plays in traffic,” Fischer said. “He is extremely aware of the surroundings with and without the puck. He ran the half-wall on the power play, he’s also been used on the PK. Obviously, heavy minutes.

“He came to our development camp last summer, we got to know him personally.”

How do players like this slip through the cracks in their draft-eligible years?

“As guys grow and get older, some mature later physically,” Fischer said. “Some guys figure things out later. Everybody’s got their own timeline. Why some guys differentiate themselves at 21, 22, 23, I really think it’s about playing important minutes, important situations, that forces the player to make decisions, to prepare more for the games. When guys start becoming leaders of their teams it really changes their mindset.”

Filip Zadina, the Red Wings’ top pick in 2018, will be sent back to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins following his ninth game, which likely will be Thursday at home against Tampa Bay. That was the plan all along, to avoid burning a year off his entry-level contract and to keep him exempt from the 2021 expansion draft.

The 23-man roster limit was lifted at the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 25.